The prior art is replete with packages or containers that are made of pliable material and are used to store usable products, and which can be used as a discardable container to dispose of contained, used, items.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,378 to Finkel et al. discloses a single use, disposable kit which receives and retains toiletries and a diaper for the care of a baby in a sanitary, tamper-proof manner. The kit is formed from a sheet of plastic material folded over upon itself at opposite ends and sealed along opposite side edges to form two principal pockets at opposite ends of the sheet. Two sheets of plastic are sealed to the outer surface of the kit to form secondary pockets for holding accessories useful in changing a baby's diaper. While the two sheets that form secondary pockets are attached to the kit via a seal, they are intended to be removed from the kit, nor is the seal intended to be broken to gain access to the contents in the secondary pockets.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,223,310 to Becker et al. discloses a container including an outer board member folded so as to form a bottom wall and side walls, with the side walls having extensions that, when folded over on one another, form a top wall. An inner flexible liner is disposed within the folded outer board member, and is formed in such a manner as to provide two pockets or pouches for holding product ready for dispensing when desired. The Becker et al. container does not provide a flexible package which, after using the contents, is capable of being reused to dispose of contaminated product, nor is there a teaching of a perforated package having portions removable to open the package.
European patent No. EP-452-167-A to NAIN discloses a tobacco pouch made from a strip of pliable material that has pockets at its two ends and adhesive strips along the inner facing sides of the strip. The strip can be folded such that the two pockets wind up facing each other with respective opposing sides adhering to one another thereby releasably sealing the pouch. As with the Becker patent discussed above, however, this container does not provide a flexible package which, after using the contents, is capable of being reused to dispose of contaminated product, nor is there a teaching of a perforated package having portions removable to open the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,645 to Kawaguchi discloses a foldable package having a saddle bag configuration and including two pockets on opposite ends of a sheet of plastic and a bendable connecting portion between the two ends. Each pocket is provided with a transverse tear line so that the connecting portion between the two ends can be torn away and the pockets opened simultaneously.
Three further disclosures that teach providing pockets in packages include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,892,512 to Branson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,378 to Finkel et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,699 to Ratajczak et al.
Other disclosures thought to be relevant include U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,759 to Wilton, U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,154 to Cohen, U.S. application Publication No. US 2001/0030133 A1 to Shibata, U.S. application Publication No. US 2001/0005435 A1 to Harmanoglu, U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,779 to Lustig, U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,455 to Anderson et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,223,310 to Becker et al., all of which disclose resin sheets folded and secured to provide packages of various shapes having pockets, but none of which disclose resealable enclosures or pockets within pockets or enclosures.
None of these documents known to applicants disclose or teach a container or package of the kind invented by applicants—that is, a principal enclosure having a resealable pocket for receipt of one or more commodities of a first group inside, where the principal enclosure is folded upon itself to create a second enclosure between opposing faces of which one or more commodities of a second group are disposed.
In one aspect of the invention, the package or container of the invention includes mating seal element on facing inner sides of the principal enclosure which are capable of being selectively engaged or released.
In another aspect of the invention, once the principal enclosure has been filled with the desired product(s) and sealed, and one or more products from the second class have been placed between adjacent faces of the folded container, a seal is formed about the about the container along a seal path that extends parallel to the outer edges of the folded enclosure so that the products from the first and second groups of components are enclosed in a sealed package.
In still another aspect of the invention, the seal extending about the container along the seal path extending parallel to the outer edges of the folded container is a perforated seal which enables removal of an outer peripheral strip of the container to permit access to the contents in the container.
The present invention therefore is a package or container comprising a primary bag-like enclosure for housing one or more items from a first group of commodities and having sealable elements at a mouth region thereof where the primary enclosure is folded upon itself once the item(s) have been placed inside to form a secondary enclosure about the periphery of which is provided an outer seal. A second perforated seal spaced inwardly from the outer seal is formed along a seal path disposed parallel to and about the three non-folded sides of the secondary enclosure. The perforated seal enables removal of an outer margin of the otherwise sealed container defined outwardly of itself, whereupon the container can be opened and the contents removed for use. Preferably before the secondary enclosure is sealed, one or more items of a second group of commodities are placed between adjacent sides of the folded container. Preferably, the commodities of the first and second classes are complementary in nature.